The invention relates to so-called inline testing performed in connection with a circuit board manufacturing line. On the manufacturing line, components are set and soldered on a circuit board, whereupon a testing system tests the circuit board and components in accordance with a set of predetermined instructions, such as a computer program, to determine their electric operation. The manufacturing line comprises a line conveyor which conveys the circuit boards horizontally in succession as a file to a testing apparatus. A conveyor comprised in the testing system conveys the circuit board into a testing station, a positioning device stops it at the proper position and contacting means comprised in a testing device establish an electric contact with the circuit board, whereupon the testing apparatus automatically carries out the required testing operations on the circuit board. After the test, the circuit board is removed from the testing apparatus and allowed to move further on the manufacturing line.
In prior art, a testing system is known in which a number of testing apparatus are disposed side by side or one after the other on the same level with the line conveyor. A problem with a system like this is that the adjacent testing apparatuses disadvantageously increase the length of the production line in confined industrial facilities. In addition, the circuit boards need to be conveyed through long distances, which means that expensive production time is spent on conveying the circuit boards and the testing may become a bottleneck in the production process.
The object of the invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages.
A specific object of the invention is to disclose a system that is as compact as possible and occupies a small proportion of the length of the production line.
A further object of the invention is to disclose a system in which the distances over which the circuit boards have to be conveyed are as short as possible and the conveying requires as little time as possible, and that the total time spent on conveying and testing is as short as possible so that the testing will not constitute any bottleneck in the production.
The system of the invention is characterized by what is presented in claim 1.